http://www.ne14hockey.com/ All Field Hockey news, all the time! en Wed, 7 Jan 2009 04:37:36 -0000 http://www.ne14hockey.com/ http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=863&title=YOUR+CLUB+website+is+waiting http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=863 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:45:00 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-12-11T12:45:00-00:00 THE CLUB-TRIX SITE

The fixture and results pages link directly to NE14Hockey and so the information can be easily updated, and only done once. If you have a site already and would just like the results and fixture pages then we can offer you just a widget that will sit on your site and provide the information. CLUB-TRIX is a flexible and easy to use system designed just for field hockey teams, so there are no sections you don't need and nothing that needs adapting to our sport.

As many people in your club as you need can be given editing and administration rights so the job of writing match reports and keeping the site topical does not fall to one person. To be an administrator you just need to register on Ne14Hockey as a basic member, which of course is FREE, so why not do it today and get your club on the world wide web.

The best bit is that you don't need a degree in computing to use the systems. We will help you in the early stages if you have any problems getting used to the navigation and getting round the site. The match reports and news are as easy to write as e-mails and creating fixtures and putting in results is quick and simple too.

The design of the site is FREE but if you need us to host it for you then there will be a small charge for that and for the domain name

If you are interested in a site or a results widget then in the first instance contact us at sales@ne14hockey.com. We will get back to you either by e-mail or telephone whichever you prefer.]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=817&title=Thirsk+Under+16%27s+Shine http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=817 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:48:51 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-09-30T03:48:51-00:00
The most impressive results were from the under 16 girls playing in the Yorkshire youth league on Sunday.

With a number of players unavailable Thirsk only had a team of eleven players so that everyone had to play every minute of all the games with no substitutes to allow some rest. The first match was against Sheffield and straight from the push back a lively set of Thirsk forwards and midfield pressed on and put the Sheffield team under pressure. This gave them no time to dwell on the ball and forced them into making mistakes allowing Thirsk to dominate the game. This pressure bore fruit when Sheffield failed to clear their lines in a goal mouth scramble and Stephanie Evans calmly slotted the ball home to give Thirsk a well deserved victory.

The next opponents were old rivals Harrogate who proved a tougher nut to crack with the defence needing to be on their toes to keep the Harrogate forwards at bay. Beth Bradbury worked hard to keep a lively right winger out of the game and Lucie Foster, a perpetual motion machine in mid field, harrying the opposition when they were in possession and supporting our forwards when we were attacking. Emily Thorpe controlled the game in the centre of midfield and her defence splitting pass led to the winning goal. Neatly picked up by Cory Fowden 35 yards out she charged for goal, cleverly evaded three tacklers and slotted the ball past the advancing goal keeper.

With the way the draw turned out Thirsk had to play their last game without a rest so straight into the action against an also undefeated Driffield A team. Again, the defence had to be on their toes with some timely tackles from Liza Makin and Ellie Skippings with strong kicking from goalkeeper Bethan Blackburn on any balls that did get through. Thirsk again put the pressure on the Driffield defence and forced a short corner. The initial shot was saved by the goalkeeper but Emily Thorpe was on the near post to pick up the rebound and slot the ball home. Driffield picked up the pace and with Thirsk starting to tire they stormed forward and equalised. This seemed to give Thirsk some new life and they once again put the pressure on the Driffield defence. Newcomer Hannah Bates was starting to find her feet and made several incisive forays down the left wing linking well with a hard working Hannah Moody. Nicola Young performed similar work on the right so Driffield were being hit from all sides. Another short corner was won which was neatly slotted home by Steph Evans with a fine first time strike. Thirsk worked hard to keep ahead but with Driffield using their substitutes to bring on fresh legs the equaliser was conceded with only a minute to go giving a final result of 2-2.

All the Thirsk players contributed to a magnificent day and finishing with two wins and a draw against three big clubs with much larger resources was a wonderful achievement. The girls played and worked hard for each other showing that team work and commitment goes a long way to achieving success.]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=787&title=Thirsk+prepare+for+new+season http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=787 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:38:24 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-08-27T10:38:24-00:00
On Friday 29th there is an open session for all players over 15 to turn-up-and-play, starting at 7pm. Junior training will start on 3rd Sep.

As always Thirsk H C welcome all players of all ages and ability. Turn up and meet us at any training session.
]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=601&title=Thirsk+youngsters+enjoy+success http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=601 Sat, 7 Jun 2008 09:50:44 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-06-7T09:50:44-00:00 Sunday 1st June 2008
2007/08 AREA YOUTH GAMES - AMPLEFORTH COLLEGE

Thirsk Hockey Club were asked to pull together teams to represent Hambleton District at this years North Yorkshire Area Youth Games Hockey event. This year Hambleton were able to enter two teams at U11’s mixed giving more youngsters the opportunity to represent their District at the games, they also entered teams into the U13 Girl’s and Boy’s.

Set in the beautiful surroundings of the Hambleton Hills, this event once again taking place at the impressive facilities of Ampleforth College. The only thing dampening the event was all the rain that fell but this did not deter all players enjoying the festivities. Hambleton U11’s A squad and the U13 boys managed this year by young leaders from Thirsk HC, doing a fantastic job in not easy conditions. U11’s being jointly managed by Liza Makin and Bethany Bradbury and the U13 boys by Sam Knox, the U11 B’s being managed by hockey playing dad Ken Shannon and the U13 Girls by stalwart of the club Mike Rushmere all team managers need a big pat on the back for keeping up the players moral.

Another successful event improving even further on (last years) results.

Overall positions after the festival were

U11 ‘A’ Mixed - 1st (3rd)
U11 ‘B’ Mixed - 5th
U13 Girls - 2nd (2nd)
U13 Boys - 3rd (5th)

U11 ‘A’ Mixed – Overall position 1st

A further two place improvement on last years results coming in a well deserved 1st place.

What a fantastic effort from the entire team. Both I and Beth agreed that they all worked very hard, despite the weather which was quite hard to play in.

They won 4 games beating Harrogate 1-0, Ryedale 1-0, York A 1-0 and Richmondshire 2-0, drawing two games 0 – 0 against Craven and York B.

Hambleton U11’s A team conceded no goals during this event, team defenders keeping this clean sheet were Maisy Bradbury, Hope Hagen and Jack Holland, and scored 5. The Scorers where: Jack MCLauglan (3), Joe Shuttleworth (1), and Jack Holland (1) but playing an important role in the team also were midfielders Ellie Watson, Jessica House and Olivia Foster.

U11 ‘B’ Mixed – Overall position 5th

The Under 11 ‘B’ mixed team lost their first game 4-0 to a more experienced York A. After the first game changes were made and the team played much better against York B, putting in some good passes between them. In the second game Hambleton came close to scoring and Ellie Fielding in goal made some excellent saves the game ending 0-0. The third game which was against Hambleton ‘A’ team was an even better performance with Maddie Phillips in attack and Florence Lister, having moved out of defence, to strengthen the midfield. Morven Hall went into defence alongside Joseph Shannon they both made some good tackles against the eventual tournament winners the game ended with another 0-0 result. The forth game against Richmondshire Hambleton made more changes to their line up taking Liam Shannon and Morven Hall out of defence, putting Maddie Phillips and Victoria Black in these positions, this gave Hambleton more strength in defence and also more width to pass the ball around. Hambleton were able to get a couple of shots on goal from Liam Shannon and Harriet Green but again the game ended 0-0. Hambleton's fifth game was against Harrogate by this time the team were beginning to play much better, unfortunately the game times were having to be reduced to 5 minutes Hambleton still coming close to scoring with Florence Lister making some excellent passes and Joseph Shannon and Harriet Green just unable to put the ball in the goal, again the game ended 0-0. By now after a rain soaked day the teams spirit was not dampened, against Ryedale the team tried to back Ryedale down but again with reduced playing time the game ended 0-0. For this young team it was there first experience of any competitive hockey and for most their first time playing at the Youth Games and I think they did really well.

U13 Girls – Overall position 2nd

The Under 13 girls played some excellent attacking hockey that produced a tally of 11 goals with only 5 against. The first game against Scarborough started well and after 10 minutes they were 3 - 0 up. Unfortunately this was followed by a 2 minute spell where the mid-field did not cover and allowed Scarborough through to score twice. Despite further opportunities the result ended 3-2. The discussion that followed on the need to control the mid-field was well understood in the next game against Harrogate with a 4-1 victory. The next game against York we knew would be the decider and so again control of the mid-field was crucial. The game was end to end with both sides having chances. Unfortunately York managed to convert one of these and so we suffered our only defeat 1-0. The games were being shortened because of a late start and extra teams arriving, so any other opportunity that may have come Hambleton's way was probably lost in the reduced game times. The game against Craven produced a 3-0 win and again good work in mid-field led to well taken chances in front of goal. The final game was against Selby who had only lost to York 1-0 so we knew this would also be a difficult game. Good control by the mid-field players provided the support to the forwards and a goal soon followed. Several more chances were missed and then Selby found the space with a breakaway and scored with only a couple of minutes to go. Despite more chances Hambleton could not get the winner and the result ended 1-1. Again the shortened match length did not favour our chances of more goals. All ten players put in strong performances and as such no individuals could be discounted from the excellent overall result of coming second to York. So in no particular order the players were: Lucy Watkiss in goal, Becky Wilson defence, Alicia Kayll, Chloe Lister, Ellen Edenbrow, Emily Ramsden and Olivia Foster in mid-field, with Alex Willis, Imogen Pearson and Sarah Turner forwards. Goals were scored by Imogen with 5, Sarah with 3 and 1 each to Alex, Chloe and Ellen.

U13 Boys – Overall position 3rd

Hambleton Under 13 boys had a very successful day in the pouring rain at Ampleforth College. They started the day with a game against Craven, which was a very strong win for Hambleton winning 3-0 with excellent performances all round with Tom Moody stealing the show. The next match was much tougher against a strong Richmondshire team with the score being a 2-0 loss, but the team defended strongly and some great saves off the line by Ben Scaling and Sam Gardiner taking a blow to the chest for the cause! Next Hambleton played against big rivals York all the boys worked hard and were constantly under pressure from the York attack. Goalkeeper Amelia Gerrity made some very crucial saves in this game, playing an important role in keeping the York team at bay. With only a few minutes of the game left Hambleton made a big push and scored the only goal of a very evenly matched end to end game. This win boosted the confidence of the team for the game against the eventual winners Scarborough. This brought out a fine performance from all the players with Hambleton scoring early in the game. Andrew Bartlett battling well in midfield, with Hambleton always in possession and creating many chances up front but unfortunately Rafe Skippings and Angus Whitham were just unable to link onto them to increase the scoreline. With just a few minutes remaining Hambleton lost the lead with a break away goal by Scarborough, ending the game with a 1-1 draw. Hambleton's final match was against Ryedale with Hambleton as strong favourites, but the team was again unlucky not to get more than the one goal scored in this game. Ryedale would not give up easily and they eventually got an equalising goal. Hambleton could not capitalise on possession and the game finished with a 1 – 1 draw. Having W2, L1, D1 Hambleton this year successfully gained a further two positions from last years Area Youth Games coming in 3rd overall.

A big thank you also to Karen Skippings for her continued help during the training sessions and in the organisation of teams on the day. To Richard Skippings and youngster Ellie Skippings for their umpiring. Finally a big thank you and appreciation goes to all the parents for your fantastic support on the day despite the awful weather.
]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=565&title=Young+Umpires+up+to+the+Challange http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=565 Thu, 8 May 2008 03:22:48 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-05-8T03:22:48-00:00
On the Sunday the young umpires officiated at the Northern finals of the Yazoo sponsored National mini hockey competition. There was keen competition in all categories and the umpires had to be on the top of their game to ensure fair and safe matches. Teams from all over the North, schools as well as clubs, took part in U12 and U13 boys and girls competitions with Yarm School qualifying for the U13 boys. Yarm played well but were unfortunate to come 3rd in their group so did not progress in the competition. The winners of each of the categories go on to the national finals in Nottingham in three weeks time.

Ellie was allocated the girls competitions and umpired five matches during the day. A large number of spectators and a loud public address system added to the pressure with the teams all trying their hardest to win through to the national finals. "I thoroughly enjoyed my week-end, even though it was hard work, and learnt a lot about umpiring which I hope to put to good use in the future with my club and school and maybe I can take my umpiring further" said Ellie who hopes to be invited again next year and would like to be able to umpire the national finals with a bit more experience under her belt.]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=533&title=Thirsk+encourage+young+umpires http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=533 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:10:12 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-04-21T04:10:12-00:00
A total of 16 people attended this course, 9 of which were from Thirsk HC and they all passed with flying colours. The course consisted of Theory, a written test paper and then a practical assessment.

With a continuing development plan the club hopes these young players will now gain further experience by umpiring for the clubs junior teams in the Yorkshire Youth Hockey league that Thirsk HC enter.

One youngster Ellie Skippings has already been invited to umpire at the North Youth Festival taking place at Belle Vue, Manchester next weekend a great achievement for her and for the club.

Many thanks must also go to the clubs Club/School link partners Thirsk School Sports Partnership for the use of their facilities.
]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=504&title=Thirsk+Ladies+double+disappointment http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=504 Tue, 8 Apr 2008 11:50:33 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-04-8T11:50:33-00:00
The Ladies 1sts played against Bradford in a game frequently spoilt by the lovely spring weather! They lost 2-0 which is has been very much the pattern for this disappointing season. Only 2 of the 22 games played have been won. They are relegated from the premier division.

The Ladies 2nds had played their last game the week before and are also relegated, to division 5, having won 3 of their games. It is hoped that next season will see both teams recover and with the new players now emerging from the junior squads find them seeking promotion back to the higher divisions.

The Men's 1st team however won their game 2-1 against Wakefield and this ensured they were promoted into division 2. This is two consecutive promotions and congratulations are due to the team for this achievement.

The Men's 2nds beat Slazengers 1-0 in a very friendly game with the goal being scored in the first half by Nathan Harding. Once again the team was a mixture of under 17 players and some more senior team members. Richard Skippings had a solid game in goal and ensured we kept a clean sheet. Strong defence by juniors Jack Radcliffe and Sam Knox supported by the senior players Mike Rushmere, Frazer Phillips and Dick Edwards made sure the defence did not allow many opportunities for Wakefield. An enjoyable end to a season that has produced some exceptional games and some that we need to forget. The seconds finish 8th in division 8, just where they finished last year. ]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=489&title=Thirsk+damp+and+disappointed http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=489 Wed, 2 Apr 2008 10:29:07 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-04-2T10:29:07-00:00
The Men's 1st team were away at Acomb and needed to win to ensure promotion from division 3. The result was a 4-3 loss and this result means they have to win their last game to get promoted as they are presently 3rd, but with a game in hand.

Thirsk Ladies II’s travelled to Ben Rhydding for their last match of the season. It was a well played, fair, friendly and enjoyable match to finish on. Thirsk, having lost a couple of their key attacking players to the 1st team, played some very good passing hockey and threatened the home team but it was Ben Rhydding who made the most of their chances in the circle and finished the play off very strongly to score the goals. The score at half time, of 4 – 0 to Ben Rhydding, didn’t reflect the competitive, end to end, play. The second half was well fought by both teams and Thirsk created more attacks and chances to score than in the first half but were unlucky not to make their mark on the score sheet, the end result staying at 4 - 0. Player of the Match was Bridie Douglas.

Thirsk Ladies II’s are guaranteed relegation back down to Division 5 next season. The team are sad to have to say goodbye to some players going off to university and others, who have gained experience and improved their game skills are now ready to move up to the Ladies 1st team; leaving room for some more younger players to be introduced to senior hockey and develop them for their future in the game.

On Saturday 5th April the club is running a junior tournament at the Thirsk school astro pitch from 10 until 12. Some 50 juniors are expected so we hope the weather will be favourable. The senior games are at 12 and 1.30 and that will be the end of the season. The club AGM will be on 7th April at the club house starting at 8pm.

Whatever the outcome of Saturday's games it is time to party and the end of season do is on 12th April again at the club house starting at 7.30pm]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=440&title=3+Thirsk+sides+in+end+of+season+battles http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=440 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:30:59 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-03-13T05:30:59-00:00
The men's firsts travelled to Huddersfield for a 1.30 start. If ever a nil nil draw was inevitable, this was the game. Two teams who were so very closely matched with very few clear cut chances. Huddersfield's best chances came one in each half, the first an excellent one handed stop by the Thirsk goalkeeper Jeff Lewis and in the second half when the Huddersfield forward rounded the Thirsk defence and with an open goal could not score due to the acute angle. Thirsk also had two great chances. Firstly Dave Pickford failed narrowly to convert a chance in the first half and the Huddersfield goalkeeper made a fine double save to deny Paul Doyle in the second. Overall both teams were happy with the draw and with other results going Thirsk's way two wins from the final two games will secure promotion for the second successive season. They presently occupy second place in division 3.


The ladies firsts travelled to Leeds. The game was very even for the first half with a single goal conceded by half time. Despite a positive attitude at the start of the second half a second was scored by Leeds within 5 minutes. Again despite being 2-0 down Thirsk did not stop trying and were rewarded in the fifteenth minute with a goal by Steph Wilkinson. Thirsk continued to attack the Leeds defence but were unable to score again and the game finished as a 2-1 loss. The ladies firsts also played on Sunday against Leeds University on the Thirsk astro. Very challenging game, all players worked hard throughout the game but unfortunately could not hold off the fast attack from Leeds Uni for the duration of the game. As Leeds Uni scored the equaliser in the middle of the second half Thirsk dug their heels in but could not pull it back. A disappointing result for a strong and hard working team. This leaves them in 11th in the premier division with the mathematical possibility of not being relegated.

The men's second's played at home against Rotherham. Having had their captain and another senior player taken by the firsts the team had to re-arrange their formation. With a mixture of mainly under 18 players and three seniors, the game started with Thirsk playing a positive passing game. Using the senior players Ian Foxley and Dick Edwards in the middle of the pitch and letting the younger players cover the wings and forward positions much of the play was controlled by Thirsk. It was therefore a disappointment to concede a goal after about 20 minutes from a short corner. Despite several chances Thirsk finished the first half 1-0 down. The second half restarted with Thirsk continuing to pass and getting into scoring chances. David Ramsden having a lofted shot cleared over the bar by the keeper. Then Leeds scored again in open play. With further pressure Thirsk were able to get short corner, and by changing the set play from previous attempts were rewarded with a shot into the corner of the goal by Jono Sharman. With 5 minutes to play the game was going Thirsk's way and again another short corner followed a repeat of the previous play and resulted in a second for Jono and a draw, as the final whistle followed shortly afterwards. A justified result given the effort put in by all the players. This leaves the seconds in 9th place in division 8 and really needing a win to secure them from relegation.

Thirsk Ladies II’s hosted a home game to Huddersfield 1 and the match turned out to be a very physical game, with both teams battling hard to fight their way out of the Division 4 relegation zone. With Bex Walters producing some excellent saves from her goal, Thirsk were still under pressure and the first half found them 2 goals down from Huddersfield’s well worked penalty corners. Following the usual pattern of the last few matches, the second half saw Thirsk come out fighting and they soon put their name on the score sheet with a strike from Bev Petty from a short corner. Within minutes they were awarded another short corner and a deflected shot on goal from Thirsk met with the stick of Ali Watt to score and equalise the match.

With Thirsk’s spirits high they soon were on the score sheet again when Clare Goacher dribbled the ball up the right wing and crossing the ball into the circle found Lizzie Walters who scored with a first time hit into Huddersfield’s goal. Unfortunately Thirsk lost their lead when Huddersfield scored a solid goal from a free hit just outside the circle, finishing the match on a 3-3 draw. With both teams gaining 1 point each from the draw, their positions in the division remain unchanged. Player of the Match was shared by the goalie, Bex Walters and captain, Sarah Goacher.

On Sunday the under 11 boys were playing in the Yorkshire mini tournament in Wakefield. The squad of 8 were in a group which included Ben Rhydding, Sheffield and Driffield. The first game against Driffield remained goaless for the first 8 minutes before they found their way past the defence of Liam Shannon and goalkeeper Michael Garthwaite. The forwards tried hard with Joe Shuttleworth and Nathan Gibson running at the defence but not able to get into a shooting position. Driffield managed to score again and the final score was 2-0. The inexperience of the Thirsk team became more pronounced in the next game against Ben Rhydding when they lost 5-0. They then had a two game break before taking on Sheffield. The match remained as a nil nil draw for the first 5 minutes but then Sheffield began to move the ball about and ran in four goals without reply. The Thirsk players never lost heart and despite the obvious talent of the other teams did not let this get them down. The other team members not mentioned were Joseph Shannon, Brad and Ayrton Ellison, and Jack Holland. Ken Shannon managed the team and made sure all had an equal share of the play.

]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=414&title=3+of+our+registered+clubs+up+for+award http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=414 Tue, 4 Mar 2008 08:20:45 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-03-4T08:20:45-00:00
Thirsk HC
Gloucester City HC
Team Bath Buccaneers HC

for the 2008 CCPR Sports Club of the Year Awards.
Congratulations to all three clubs.

We received a number of high quality applications which shows the significant work in development of club hockey at grassroots level and beyond.
We would like to take this opportunity in thanking all applicants and congratulating the nominated clubs on reaching this stage

The CCPR Sports Club of The Year is now in its 15th year, the award ceremony, run in conjunction with the Foundation for Sports and the Arts, seeks to reward those clubs at the heart of their communities which provide opportunities for players and volunteers alike to participate in sporting and recreational pursuits.

Last year’s prizes were awarded by Sir Bobby Charlton CBE at a glittering gala dinner. In addition to the prize money the winning club may also benefit from local and national media attention.

Courtesy of England Hockey]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=399&title=Thirsk+Juniors+Busy+again%2C http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=399 Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:33:49 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-02-14T11:33:49-00:00 U12 BOYS

Sunday 10th February Thirsk U12 boys’ team travelled to Halifax for the latest round of the Yorkshire Youth league.

Following promotion at the last tournament Thirsk was looking to consolidate their position in the “C” division. The first opponents were a lively Wakefield side. Thirsk pressed from the first whistle and with Wakefield on the back foot Rafe Skippings broke through between two defenders and, despite close attention from the full back, fired in an early strike which wrong footed the goalkeeper for the opening goal. Wakefield came back strongly and put the Thirsk defence under a great deal of pressure. Due to key players missing from the back due to half term holidays, the Thirsk backs were not used to playing with each other and unfortunately conceded two goals to lose a hard fought match.

Old rivals Leeds were next and Thirsk were determined not to repeat the mistakes of the first match. A rearranged back line was more secure and Leeds failed to make any inroads. Sam Gardiner opened the scoring with a strong run from defence and a clean strike past the helpless goalkeeper. Dean Porter worked hard in the centre of mid field probing the Leeds defence and forcing them on the back foot. An accurate pass from him across goal found Rafe Skippings in front of goal and a first time sweep hit the back of the net. Thirsk continued to attack with Jo Shuttleworth and Liam Shannon ably supporting the attacks. Sam Gardiner added the third with a powerfully struck shot at a penalty corner which gave the defence no chance and Thirsk ran out 3 – 0 winners.

The next opponents, Slazenger’s, were a much tougher nut. A fast and skillful team gave the Thirsk defence a lot of work to do. Carl Carver worked tirelessly with Joseph Shannon putting in some crucial tackles. Michael Garthwaite had to stay alert in goal and made some important saves keeping the Slazenger’s attack at bay. When they were able to break out their moves were stifled by determined tackling and a 0 – 0 draw was a fair result.

Last up were Rotherham who had kept clean sheets in all their previous matches. The play was fast, end to end stuff with both teams trying their utmost to break the deadlock. Andrew Bartlett played well down the left side defending with determination and attacking with vigour he was unfortunate not to score when he hit the post and the ball rebounded to safety. Thirsk pressed hard and hit the post on two other occasions as well as having the ball cleared off the line. Thirsk had the majority of the chances but were unable to find the killer ball. Final result at the end of a tiring game another well deserved 0 – 0 draw.

The whole team played well all day and the goal of consolidating in the higher division was achieved with style. A great effort by all the players and many thanks to the parents for their support and transport.

U12 Girls

The Thirsk U12 Girls also played the next round of competition at Halifax. With promotion last month into Division A we knew it would be hard work this month to maintain this position, but Thirsk proved to everyone they were not out of place in this division. With half term none attendees Thirsk had to pull in 2 newcomers into the side for their first ever league games, both Melody Swiers and Esther Walpole didn’t disappoint they fitted into the squad well.

First game against Doncaster proved to be a battle of wits Thirsk had played Doncaster in the previous months games and lost so this time they wanted to make amends and they started well Natalie Mounsey taking the reins in centre midfield and finding this daunting at first but soon settled into the role. With a quick break from defence Natalie ran the ball into the Doncaster circle on the right and taking a strike on goal which the keeper narrowly saved the rebound falling just behind Melody Swiers. Doncaster applied pressure and had a number of shots on goal which Lucy Watkiss, after 2 months out of the game due to injury, saved with great aplomb. Midfields Rebecca Parkinson and Melody linking well with forward player Lizzie Lee were just unable to put away that vital all important goal, having been given a lot of space from through balls behind the Doncaster players on a number of occasions by defenders Maisy Bradbury and Hope Hagen. Doncaster eventually broke the stalemate scoring a goal with only a matter of seconds left of the game remaining. Thirsk loosing the game 1 – 0.

The second game was against a very strong Hull team, who immediately and throughout the whole of the game put Thirsk under pressure. Maisy and Amanda O’Brien constantly having to battle hard in defence to clear the ball but struggled as Hull pressed forward. When Thirsk did get the ball away from danger, newcomer Esther Walpole on the left managed to run the ball into space with support from midfielders Natalie and Georgina Watkiss with forward player Melody moving into the Hulls circle they had the chances to score but it just wouldn’t happen. Again right at the end of the game Thirsk gave way to the unending pressure and Hull scored the only goal of the game. 1 – 0 win to Hull.

The next game against City of York 1 was another very evenly matched game. Chances were always on the cards for Thirsk to score with good linking passes between Rebecca and Natalie around the York players into the attacking circle, Thirsk gaining short corner after short corner but unable to convert them. Thirsk constantly pressurised the York defence Lizzie working well up front consistently being a nuisance putting in good tackles and laying the ball off to the midfielders. This is how the game remained until a few minutes from the end when York were given an unfortunate advantage just outside the Thirsk circle, playing the ball into the circle York scoring. Final result another loss to Thirsk 1 – 0.

The fourth game against Harrogate was yet another evenly matched game with end to end play. Both teams battling hard with neither getting through to goal. Defender Hope playing a stormer of a game making numerous good clearances from danger, on one occasion the ball being picked up by Maisy, playing centre midfield, who pushed the ball forward for Melody to run onto and have the only real strike on goal narrowly missing. Again all Thirsk players worked hard for a deserved result of a 0 – 0 draw.

The last game of a long afternoon’s hockey proved to be the hardest against Wakefield. Thirsk never gave up even after Wakefield scored their 1st goal early in the game. Rebecca battling constantly to come away with the ball but being quickly dispossessed from a strong Wakefield defender. Again the chances were there for Thirsk and again they were awarded numerous short corners but just couldn’t get the vital equaliser. Wakefield still kept up the pressure defenders Amanda, Hope and Maisy finding it hard to clear away from danger. Lucy Watkiss playing another great game in goal keeping Thirsk in with a chance, but eventually Thirsk couldn’t soak up any more pressure and Wakefield slotted away their second goal. Final result of the game 2 – 0 win to Wakefield. Even though Thirsk never won a game not one single member of the 10 strong squad gave up playing hard.

U14 Girls

With all the problems that school half term has bought Thirsk U14 girls instead of travelling to Leeds to play 3 matches travelled through to Lady Lumleys at Pickering to play the only other team available Pickering.

In glorious sunshine they played 2 games the first being the match that the result counted for for the league the second a friendly. Thirsk drew 1-1 in the actual match and won the "friendly" 1-0. Pickering were extremely strong with all their county players on display and dominated the first 10 minutes with the Thirsk girls a bit awestruck. Pickering went ahead quite early on but Thirsk hung on in and got better and better equalising with about 6 mins to go, eventually finishing the stronger team but overall a draw was a fair result as Pickering have been the best team Thirsk have faced so far.

Thanks go to Julia Lister for managing the team on the day and to Alasdair Thorpe for umpiring.

Senior Results

The men's second team travelled to Huddersfield for a return fixture that at home we had lost 7-4. Travelling with 12 players and all but two of the strongest available gave the squad a positive outlook following the previous two loosing results. From the first pass Thirsk played a strong team game with good passing and support and with strong running by the several young players. Opportunities for Thirsk to score were many in the first half and despite several short corners the Huddersfield goal keeper and defence managed to prevent our chances being converted. Shots by Frazer Phillips and Ben Taylor even finding the post or defenders feet to stop a goal. It was therefore ironic that some 10 minutes from the end of the first half with only the second time Huddersfield had reached the goal area that they managed to score. Thirsk did not allow this to slow their game and they continued to attack the opposition's goal right up to the half time whistle.

The tactics of the first half were continued in the second and again Thirsk spent most of the time testing the Huddersfield defence. About 20 minutes into the half an attack up the left wing by Ian Foxley was followed by a pass into the area to Ben Taylor who took the time to pass to the unmarked Nathan Harding who blasted the ball into the goal. At last a reward for the hard work. From the restart Thirsk maintained its pressure on Huddersfield with the other forwards Richard Taylor, Tom Norman and Dick Edwards supplying opportunities but no more goals were scored. The defence of Sam Knox, Jack Radcliffe, Mike Rushmere, Andrew Young and the goal keeper Philip Young did not have to defend any short corners and were rarely troubled by the Huddersfield attack. This was a performance that warranted a win; however, a draw provides a valuable point in the effort to stay away from the relegation zone. Position 8 in division 8.

Thirsk Ladies II’s hosted a home game against Sheffield University Bankers 2, who are in contention for promotion to Division 3. The visiting team were unable to field a full squad and so Thirsk II’s, who are at the bottom of the division, made the most of their chances and enjoyed an unexpected victory. Sheffield put up a very tough fight and made Thirsk work hard for only their third win of the season.

Goals came from Karen Skippings, her daughter Ellie, Bev Petty, Clare Goacher and Nicola Gill, a new recruit to Thirsk Ladies II’s and the youngest member of the team, scoring a hat trick. The final score being 7 -2. Player of the Match was Sarah Goacher.

If Thirsk can maintain this form then they could remove themselves from the relegation zone of division 4.

The men's 1st team won 3-1 at home against Slazenger 2nds and the ladies lost away to Leeds 1st team 3-0. The men are 2nd in division 3 and the ladies remain at the foot of the premier division.]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=345&title=League+Games+back+in+some+Regions http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=345 Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:17:05 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2008-01-15T06:17:05-00:00 March

Just 4 weeks ago, when these two sides last met, March Ladies 1sts ran out convincing 9-1 winners. On Saturday they found themselves up against a much changed Bourne side, and found life much more difficult. March, found themselves a goal down early on following a fast breakaway by the Bourne forwards. There was good attacking hockey from both sides during the half, with the visitors having most of the possession. March deservedly equalised from a penalty corner when a Katie Rodger strike deflected off a defender and over the keeper into the net.

The second half produced more good attacking hockey with Robyn Gribble and Emma Rawlinson going close for March. With the game drifting towards a draw, and with just 3 minutes remaining, Emma Rawlinson crossed from the wing and poacher supreme Lauren Oakman was on hand to poke the ball past the keeper for a March victory and three vital points.

A back to strength March squad entertained Cambridge University 3rd XI in the Cambs Ladies Premier Division League Cup last Saturday. The first half saw the March defence look solid as it soaked up pressure from the University forwards. Although the home side were on the back foot for most of the half, they held out until 10 minutes before the interval when University scored with a somewhat lucky deflected shot.

The second half saw March, push defender Petrina Cartwright up into the forward line, and for a good 20 minutes, March took the game to their opponents. The home side created numerous chances with Petrina Cartwright going close from a penalty corner attempt, and Jenny Palmer just failing to score from a Cartwright cross. Despite playing some of their best attacking hockey of the Season, March failed yet again to convert their chances and eventually conceded two further goals to hand University a 3-0 win.

The only men's League fixture was for the 5th XI who had a reorganised game from October. Simon Laws and Ross Ambler grabbed a brace each with David Haslegrave adding another in a convincing 5 - 0 win against Rutland. This was an excellent victory for the young March side, who were expecting a very tough game. The win takes March above Rutland, and into sixth place in the NE14HOCKEY Division 7 North West. March made an excellent start to the game, putting the home defence under pressure and it was no surprise when David Haslegrave put his side ahead after just 10 minutes. Within minutes the score had doubled as Simon Laws found the back of the net. Constant pressure for the remainder of the half meant that the March defence had little to do but watch what was going on in front of them.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with March just failing to score from a penalty corner attempt before Simon Laws scored his second and March’s third goal, to put the result beyond doubt. With March constantly on the attack, more goals had to come and Ross Ambler added the fourth, before the visitors were denied a fifth by a fine save from the Rutland keeper. March were not to be denied, however, and just before the end Ross Ambler netted his second and give March a well deserved 5-0 victory.

March 3rd XI had a friendly against a Spalding 2nd XI who proved to be very strong opponents, but March matched them in all departments during an entertaining first half. Spalding scored from open play but within 10 minutes March were level, with a well taken goal from youngster Jacob Fraser. The remainder of the half saw good hockey from both sides, but with defences on top, there were no further goals. Early in the second half Spalding regained the lead, only for leading scorer Charlie Boughton to bring March level again. With the game heading for a draw, March were awarded a penalty corner just before the end of normal time, and Gary Howsam rifled home an unstoppable shot to secure an excellent victory.

Atherstone Adders

In their first game back after the festive break the Adders sneaked a less than convincing victory against a spirited Yardley side. With the score level going into the last 10 minutes the league leaders left it late to snatch a win from a disappointing performance. With several key players missing much of the emphasis prior to the match was placed on retaining possession. This approach seemed to fall on deaf ears as the Adders persisted in their attempts of over ambitious passes and repeatedly gave possession away needlessly.

With Yardley fielding a much stronger team than in their early season encounter the Adders looked in danger of conceding early on as Yardley spurned a good chance. Fortunately this seemed to give the Adders a much needed wake up call and after winning their only short corner of the first half Robert Boal flicked the ball in following a goal mouth scramble.

Despite a stern talking to at half time the Adders began the second half in similar fashion to the first and Yardley pulled themselves level after some hesitant defending. With the Adders shaken they were fortunate not to find themselves behind as Michael Pipe made an excellent low save. Continuing to show a lack of composure and patience with time running out the Adders were reduced to 10 men after a hasty yellow card was issued to Webb with no prior warning. Adders were spurred on by the decision and began to play with more determination. They were rewarded with a penalty after a well worked short corner but unfortunately Robert Boal was unable to grab his second goal of the game as he fluffed the flick.

Seconds after being allowed back onto the pitch Webb managed to squeeze a reverse stick shot into the net and the Adders began to play with increased confidence and composure. They retained possession well and unsurprisingly found themselves 3-1 up with the best goal of the game. A neat passing move down the right found Nick Wright in the D and the Adders veteran finished with typical composure. Despite taking 3 points from the game the Adders will need to put in a much improved performance against promotion contenders Streetly next week.

Thirsk

The league games played on Saturday 12th provided a firm reminder that nobody provides late presents in hockey. The men's 2nd team travelled to Huddersfield to play Syngenta 1st team who are in third position in the division. The team consisted of three players above 50 and eight below 18. Syngenta kindly provided both umpires which ensured Thirsk were able to field a team of 11. Despite the number of young players the team were able to show that they did not lack the enthusiasm and skill to take on the more experienced opposition and were able to control the game and provide a stubborn defence. It was only after some 20 minutes of play that Syngenta managed to score one goal and then again just before half time. This was not without several chances being available for Thirsk but they were not able to put them away. The second half started more positively for Thirsk and many more opportunities were being created which eventually led to a goal from Nathan Harding who managed to weave his way through a crowded defence and slot the ball away. The next 15 minutes were even and the game moved from end to end. However, a late goal by Syngenta put the game beyond Thirsk's reach and it ended 3-1.

The men's 1st team played at home against City of York 4th team and won 6-4. This puts them into 2nd place in division 3.

Thirsk Ladies 1sts played at home against Harrogate 2nds and lost 0-5. An unfortunate start to the New Year as Thirsk ladies suffer from post Christmas blues. A special mention should be given to Sara Stephenson for incredible hard work and determination throughout the game.

The ladies 2nds played away at Wakefield and had a disappointing start to 2008 with a 8-1 loss.

On Sunday the men’s veterans team once again made an appearance with a game against Doncaster in the Yorkshire veterans cup. Doncaster were fielding a strong team with some ex-premiership players and although Thirsk had a squad of 12, three of the players had not turned a hockey stick for over three years. The word was ‘do not give away any short corners’. During the first 20 minutes Thirsk had to defend against a succession of 10. Despite all of this pressure only two goals came from these set plays, great goal keeping from Jeff Lewis and defenders Simon Barton and Andrew Young making telling interceptions kept the game reasonably close. After this initial trial, Thirsk started to move forward and managed to create a few chances in the Doncaster goal area. Strong moves down the right between Jonathen Statham, Simon Gaskell and Scott Miles gave opportunities for Richard Taylor running a one man strike force. Doncaster came back towards the end of the half and through a series of quick passes and a goal area scramble scored a second time. The half time score was 2-0. A small change to positions at half time seemed to give Thirsk more space in the Doncaster half and as a result they were able to score after 10 minutes from a free hit out on the right swept in by Scott on the back post. Doncaster came back again and by a strong follow up at a short corner were able to restore their 3 goal lead. Thirsk did not give up and again pushed forward and from a short corner Scott scored his second touching in the strike from Andrew Young. This seemed to unsettle Doncaster who moved some of there stronger players back into defence and this enable Thirsk to continue to push forward. Unfortunately this left them open to the quick counter attack and on one such occasion Doncaster scored again. Final score 4-2, a defeat but an honourable result for Thirsk given the strength of the opposition.

Sevenoaks

Oaks men's 3rd XI travelled to local rivals Old Williamsonians for the first league game after the Christmas break eager to get back to winning ways. With captain Guthrie Miller deciding to revert back to a more solid looking four-four-two formation there was a real sense of purpose and desire to arrest recent poor form. Old Willies clearly aimed to get at the Sevenoaks back four in the early part of the game. Despite the pressure Oaks never looked in any danger of conceding. As the first half progressed Oaks began to show their superiority and pushed Old Willies back. Excellent passing and moving from the midfield and forward players left the opposition chasing shadows as Oaks went in search of a deserved lead. Eventually the inevitable came with Freddie Griffiths-Jones rifling home from a short corner. Jones grabbed his brace soon after and Oaks were cruising. Old Willies managed to sneak a soft goal late in the first half much to the chagrin of Captain Miller. The second half saw Sevenoaks start extremely brightly and they regained their two-goal cushion within minutes of the re-start. Darren Wenham finished off a slick short corner routine to re-affirm Oaks’ superiority. Oaks would perhaps be disappointed not to have made the result more emphatic as GK Dodds only had to make one save of note. However, what was an all round solid if not spectacular display meant Miller and the team headed back to Sevenoaks satisfied in the knowledge that the job had been well done.

The Men’s 4th XI Sevenoaks travelled to Erith School to play top of the league and inform Bexley Invicta in their first league game of 2008. Oaks started the game looking as if the Christmas Turkey was yet to digest, and as a result - Bexley were all over Oaks from the first whistle. The defensive line up of Richardson, Higgs, Jones and Jeffrey held up well but the onslaught from Bexley proved too much and despite the valiant efforts of keeper Downing, it wasn't enough to save the opening strike of the game. As Oaks started to look despondent - Coruscating Graham and bad boy Maddison drove the team from the middle of the pitch, fighting for and winning every 50/50 ball. Maddison's vision combining well with Grahams fitness and tenacity. Super-subs Hunt and Basset were called to duty after the first goal was conceded and Hunt's assist to Wood led to Oak's equaliser - Blasted into the back of the net by Wood. A sublime move by Hunt which would have impressed the Kent selectors. Suddenly the tide had turned and Man of the Match, Graham was keeping Bexley's key man very quiet.


Waiting to tackle

Oaks added pressure with some mazy runs down the right flank with Young and the ever agile Hall. And it was Hall was found pirouetting through a crowded D which led to Oaks being awarded a Penalty Corner. Here Hunt found Jeffrey who slammed the ball across goal to Hall who calmly guided Oaks into a 2-1 lead. 2-1 up and 15 minutes remaining. Was this to be the first upset of the year ? Sadly not. Maddsion was shown a yellow card for his second foul was sent to the naughty step for the last 10 minutes of the game.

Graham did all he could to keep the team together but Bexley's pressure proved too much and an equaliser came just before the final whistle.

The 6th XI scored a hatful against Cobdown in Kent Division 6 and put their season back on track with a 7-1 home victory. The pacy forward line of Jon Evans, Rob House and Derry Wiltshire immediately looked threatening. Soon Marc Ng struck a sweet short corner to punchy Piers Darkins for him to open the scoring, and bustling Jan van der Velde added a powerful second. But Oaks continued to press and began to overstretch themselves at the back and were lucky to escape punishment more than once.
At half-time gruff goalie Mike Hrebien read the riot act to his defence, but it took a breakaway goal from the visitors to shake Oaks up. Defensively Chris Hix, Marc Ng and Piers Darkins then tightened the marking and natty Neil Zabit swept the Cobdown playmaker out of the game. The visitors had no answer to the midfield power of Andrew Reid , tigerish Tim Gore and electric Tim Boulton, or the one-handed dribbling of jaunty Jonny Evans. Oaks began passing the ball with panache, pace and flair, producing two goals from wonder winger Derry Wiltshire. With characteristic generosity he gifted the next goal to unstoppable hotshot striker Rob House. Reid capped a virtuoso performance with goal number six before House signed off with the seventh as Oaks ruled the Hollybush roost.

Sevenoaks Ladies 3s suffered their first defeat of the season in a high scoring 11 goal match away against local rivals Oxted ladies 1s. Sevenoaks were without their regular goalkeeper Lynn Dawson who was on National League indoor duty and 4th team goalkeeper Leanne Slaughter very ably stepped up to the challenge despite being involved in a car accident on her journey to the game. Oaks were the first to score after a corner routine was stopped on the line by an Oxted defender’s foot, so Georgina Light stepped up and took a superb penalty flick. Oxted soon pulled one back with one of their many attacks on goal, and then swiftly followed this with two more quite soft goals before half time.

Sevenoaks pulled together in the second half and were soon rewarded with a goal when Helen Foss making her debut for the third team. Oxted swiftly replied with yet another goal. Oaks’s top scorer Julie Nicolson opened her goal account for 2008 with a well taken scoring opportunity, but Oxted promptly scored again at the other end. Sevenoaks then stepped up a gear and some fine attacking play was put together by the Sevenoaks midfielders and inners. Nicolson soon slotted home her second goal of the match, but Oxted then scored another and sealed their victory just before the end with a good short corner routine which beat both the defence and goalkeeper. 7 - 4 was the final score.

The Sevenoaks 4As development side commenced the second half of the season with a pre-league warm -up game against Holcombe 3s. In an evenly contested game Sevenoaks used the opportunity to develop their passing game and practice keeping the width. This tactic paid off in the first half with Sevenoaks junior Grace Lovegrove scoring from an acute angle following a well worked move down the right wing. Holcombe's young goalkeeper made a number of outstanding saves to keep the score at 1-0 at half time. Holcombe started the second half in a determined mood and quickly scored an equaliser before the Sevenoaks defence had time to settle. Both sides had a number of opportunities to take the lead but excellent goalkeeping at both ends denied the forwards and the score remained at 1-1. Jess Denniff had an outstanding game on the left wing as did Carlotta Symons at right back.

Sevenoaks Junior Hockey

Sevenoaks Girls U16 As 8 - 0 Ashford

Sevenoaks girls A side had an impressive first half against a young Ashford side in which they completely dominated the play. Strong attacking moves by Lotty Willis; Helen Foss and Carlotta Symons provided the forwards with numerous chances and although excellent goalkeeping kept the score down Sevenoaks nevertheless scored six goals before half time. In the second half Sevenoaks camped in the Ashford half with all 11 Ashford players defending their goal. Coach Karen Taylor took the opportunity to try Sevenoaks players in different players and whilst this slightly altered the smooth flow of the game it still created numerous opportunities in front of goal. Stirling work by the Ashford defence and impressive goalkeeping meant that the second half score was only 2-0 - giving Sevenoaks an 8-0 victory. Goal scorers were Lotty Willis 2; Helen Foss 2; Catherine Shannon 1; Lucy Mote 1; Helen Allison 1 and Celia Gore 1.

Sevenoaks Girls U16 B 4 - 0 Burnt Ash

The Sevenoaks girls U16B side had an equally impressive win over Burnt Ash As. Playing an impressive passing game the team dominated the match throughout with strong defending by Lucy Roberts and Anna Dixon coupled with skilful mid-field play by Rebecca and Georgina Chard which ensured that a Sevenoaks win was never in doubt. Both goalkeepers made some excellent saves but overall Burnt Ash were simply not strong enough to cope with the skills and determination of the Sevenoaks players who enjoyed a well deserved 4-0 win. Sevenoaks Bs are currently lying second in the Kent U16 league after 7 games the As are fourth having played only 4 games.

City of Peterborough

In the East Veterans League the Vets XI lined up against Pelicans Vets and won a tight match 3 – 2, the goals coming from Tom Megginson, Adam Drake and Ian Kennedy. The team pulled off the comeback of the day to win from 0 - 2 down at half time. Third in the table Pelicans started well and carried the game to City who were indebted to Mike Yeoman at sweeper in his second game of the day for holding things together. A notable feature of the game was the first appearance together in a competitive game of father and son Ted and Adam Drake. This had a significant effect on the match with the latter’s silky dribbling skills setting up an early goal in the second half from Tom Megginson. The introduction of Aggi Milner in the second period also steadied the ship and City slowly took control with Adam Drake slotting in the equaliser and Ian Kennedy turning in a short corner shot. City finished the stronger team with Kennedy unfortunate to have a further goal ruled out by an early whistle for a short corner. However, it still took a fine intervention from Dave Hiles in the last two minutes to ensure the win. In a fiercely fought encounter this was a fine result for City Vets.

The rest of C o P were playing friendlies. The 2nd XI Lost 0 – 2. Against a team comfortably in mid table in the league above (Premier A), City 2nds, without 3 regulars, acquitted themselves very well and should have at least obtained a draw. They were slightly the better team for long periods but were unable to force home their advantage with 2 goal line clearances by the Havering full backs proving vital. In the last ten minutes Havering scored from a narrow angle after a fine initial save from Jon Short and as City chased the equaliser they were punished again from a swift breakaway. If City can reproduce their first half of the season form they are in a strong position to gain promotion to Premier A and this performance shows that they could compete successfully at that level.

The 3rd XI had better luck beating Letchworth 1sts 3 – 1. City earned a fine win against a very good Letchworth 1st side who are 2nd in our sister league Div 2 South. It was a good result for a make shift team with five regulars unavailable, against a side which had scored 71 goals in 11 league matches. City started well and scored first through good work by Shayne Andrews releasing Joshua Young to beat his marker and round the goal keeper and reverse flick the ball into the goal. Letchworth then scored through a well worked short corner 1- 1 at half time with chances at both ends including a brilliant stick save from Darren Griffiths for City. City stepped up the pace of the game as the opposition started to feel the affects of Xmas and scored two further goals through Andrews a reverse hit and Sam Ure alert at the far post from a short corner. Man of the match Joshua Young. It will be a tough test next week when City play top of the table St. Ives 1st XI in an away fixture.

CoP 4ths could not beat a Winchmore Hill 1st team in another game won by the odd gaol in 5. Although they dominated much of the play, City 4ths contrived to lose this match to a penalty stroke in the last few minutes. Generally poor finishing and some naïve defending let them down.

The 5ths came from behind against Letchworth 3rds to draw 3 - 3. 1 – 3 down at half time City turned the game round and might have won in the end. However they were indebted to a fine display in goal from “returning to the fold” Taff Brady for keeping them in the game early on.

Finally the 6th team gained an excellent victory away to Winchmore Hill 2nds again by an odd goal, this time in 7. In an extremely useful work out for the league games starting next week, City were always in the lead and deserved their victory although the concession of 3 goals gave some cause for concern.]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=292&title=Last+Weekends+Round+up http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=292 Thu, 6 Dec 2007 05:38:28 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2007-12-6T05:38:28-00:00 Get your press officer or captain to send it to us at admin@NE14HOCKEY.com and we will extract a few lines.

If you want to see your club exploits recorded in full then sign up as a member and post them to your club page of your blog It's as hard as that.

Thirsk

The damp and cool weather on Saturday 1st December did not seem to work in favour of the Thirsk teams.

Thirsk Ladies II’s played at home against Ben Rhydding 4 and started the game well but the visiting team made the most of their few chances and scored 2 goals before the half time whistle. The second half started much the same and Ben Rhydding again scored a further 2 goals to finish the match at 4 – 0. Player of the Match was Jane Holmes.

The men's second team travelled to Leeds to take on Leeds Adel 7ths who were 3 positions below them in division 8. The first 15 minutes of the game were even with chances falling to both sides. The first break came for Leeds who managed to score following a goal area scramble. Thirsk began to push harder and after a quick change to players positions Thirsk scored from a drive down the right and a solo run into the 'D' by Ben Taylor. Leeds then managed to score from a short corner some 10 minutes from the end. and then hit a third to make the final result 3-1 to Leeds.

Thirsk 1sts played at home against Leeds University 4ths. Despite leading 2-0 at half time they finished with a 2-2 draw. The ladies 1sts played away at Chapletown and lost 4-0

On Sunday 2nd the under 14 boys travelled to Castleford to play in 2 games in the Yorkshire under 14 league. Again a wet day did not encourage the team but despite this they put up a strong display against two strong teams. Against Sheffield they lost 5-0. In their next game against Brigg they made some strong attacks and were only denied by some excellent goal keeping. However the Brigg forwards eventually found their way through and scored three times in the last 10 minutes of the game. The score did not really reflect the overall picture of the game. This leaves Thirsk in position 14 out of 23 in the league. The next round is on December 16th in Barnsley.

March Town

In the NE14HOCKEY East League Women's Division 2 North March Ladies 1sts played Old Buckenham. Old Buck got the first goal and should have gone 2 up but Julie Ingham in the March goal saved the day. This helped March and they equalised shortly after through Lauren Oakman. Old B took the lead mid way through the 2nd half but Oakman found the target again for the 17th time this season. The Ladies 2nds couldn't raise a team so had to concede 3 - 0

Meanwhile the Mens 1st team were dispatched to defeat by City of Peterborough 3rds 8 - 0, with 4 goals scored in each half. The 2nd team faired much better against local rivals Wisbech sharing the points in a 1 - 1 draw, the home teams goal scored by Charlie Saunders. City of Peterborough were also playing Marchs 3rd and 4th teams and won both of those encounters to complete a club over club treble on the day. March 3rds lost 3 - 1, the 4ths 3 - 2. March 5ths must have been pleased not to be playing CoP but they suffered the same fate this time losing 2 - 0 to St Ives in division 7 NW.

City of Peterborough

May as well finish the rest of Cop's results from the weekend as 3 of them are above.

The 1st XI were involved in the East Indoor Championship qualifiers on Saturday and Sunday and ran out winners. The early games were Won 8 - 7 Vs Witham, Won 12 – 0 Vs Stevenage, Won 6 – 3 Vs Harpenden, and Won 5 – 2 Vs St Ives. The Final was a close match with Cop edging a 4 - 3 win against Chelmsford with a goal in the final seconds to qualify for the finals this coming weekend.

In the NE14HOCKEY East league Premier B a weakened 2nd XI could not match the 1sts success and lost 1 - 0 to Colchester.
Weakened by withdrawals and injuries to Andrew Cave (broken wrist) and Sanjay Dhanani (ligaments) during the game, City still had enough of the play to at least achieve a draw. In Div 3NW the 4th XI became the latest victims of the goal machine that is Market Deeping 1sts. The result was respectable compared to some though, they only lost 5 - 1, Cop's goal coming from Stuart Bond.

Gloucester

City slumped to their third league draw of the season, losing out on a vital two points in an uninspiring 2-2 draw against Westbury & UB. In torrid weather conditions, Gloucester were caught on the break and trailed at the half time interval but bounced back with second half goals from Tom Ward and Matthew Fairburn, only for the hosts to snatch a point at the death. City now find themselves in second position after being leapfrogged by Cardiff & UWIC who defeated Swansea Bay in the Welsh derby.

The A team faired better against Westbury despite the fact they had come to defend with everything they had, and the kitchen sink. Indeed the only attacking that they had in mind seemed to be to the actual Gloucester players, with several altercations in the first half resulting in lots of handbags and not much fluid hockey being played. The second half was little better but Gloucester managed to breach Helm's Deep 3 times to win this scrappy and unsatisfactory game.

The C team also had draw fever, another 2 - 2 against Lydney, while the D team took the short trip to Cirencester, scored 4 goals and came home with the points.

The Ladies 4th XI walked all over Cheltenham Civil Service, who looked like they would have preferred to be indoors in the warm. 8 - 0 was a comprehensive display.]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=262&title=Round+the+Clubs http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=262 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:43:05 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2007-11-28T08:43:05-00:00 Gloucester City

The 1st XI continued their excellent form in the Premier Division 1 of West of England South Wales Hockey League with a 7 - 2 thumping of Isca. Andrew Tyrrell provided a long awaited hat trick and 2 from leading marksman Matt Fairburn and one a piece from Iain Pritchard and Kris Green sealed the visitors’ fate.

Gloucester City 2nd XI also blasted 7 past North Bristol, this time without response.

On a freezing Saturday afternoon the Gloucester City team were in high spirits in the portacabin prior to the match with a stirring team talk a la Delia Smith by new Captain Fantastic Pittaway. His rousing speech was received by an engrossed team only to be interrupted by Partridge Senior who had chilly hands; Partridge Jnr looked suitably embarrassed, realising that the day was going to be an expensive one for him.

Onto the match and City started like the league leaders that they are, Ellis, with his new Racoon like haircut, was all over the pitch like a rash. Indeed the entire midfield looked like they meant business, with Tyrrell looking surprisingly sprightly now that his calves had been freed of the "Friday Nights Only" tights that he normally sports. Left wing giant Bambi looked galvanised after his pre match banana and was literally making great strides down the wing linking well with our badger bearded antipodean, Boon.

Time for a goal, City pushed forward with interplay that can only be described as orgasmic resulting in Hammond passing the ball through the keepers legs with a precision he normally reserves for fitting his 2000 Watt speakers in his pimped up motor - Westwood would have been proud of that finish. It was a bitter sweet match for Watts, a born and bred Bristolian who seemed to be speaking in a local dialect prior to the match, he appeared eager to put one over his fellow Avonians and was linking the midfield and forwards with good effect. Indeed he was heavily involved in the next two goals which Hammond and Boon finished clinically.

3-0 for City and enter Scott "BA Barracas" Ellis, Ellis apparently stung by Bristolian critique of his Busted-esque Barnet seemed determined to engage the oppo in a scuffle and proceeded to work his way up and down the right wing looking for any takers. North Bristol, clearly intimidated by Ellis's daunting stature didn't take the bait so Ellis tried it on with the Ref who obliged Ellis with a stern talking to. Watts almost increased the advantage with two moments of magic, the first a deft deflection which the keeper managed to parry back to the Lego haircutted bristolian who then reverse struck the rebound. The ball arrowed towards the goal only for an unfortunate gust of wind to blow the ball onto the post, then the crossbar and then to safety. City didn't let this ill fortune affect them and cemented their lead with a fourth from strawberry blond Hammond who secured his third of the game with a tap in.

Student Green, ever impressive at the centre of the park was dictating proceedings and North Bristol's occasional forays into City's half were snuffed out by the evergreen Pittaway, Brown and the promising Partridge. Tyrrell continued his good game with a few mazy dribbles which flummoxed both the opposition and himself. Ketan Patel, comfortable in front of a film crew, came on to shore up the defensive team and pulled off an amazing dive for the cameras, clearing a ball of the line in the process to preserve City's clean sheet. Dusting himself off he sped up the pitch and was instrumental in setting up Hammond for another tap in. Charania came on and got in on the act scoring after being set up with a pass from Tyrell that any Croatian would have been proud of, Hammond scored again, after playing "to me, to you" with the keeper, his fifth of the game - looking as pleased as the first time he got tinted windows for his Astra.

Gloucester City Ladies 3rd's also continued the winning theme with a 3 - 1 success against St Gregory's and the Badgers didn't spoil the day witha confident 8 - 2 victory over Newent Badgers.

Gloucester City U18 Girls entered the EH Cup competition for the first time, and travelled to Henley on Thames to play their 2nd round tie (first round bye). As you might imagine the journey to Henley was a mixture of excitement and nervousness, not helped by the manager loosing the plot and getting them all to the ground later than expected. However, the warm up went well and the girls now appeared eager to get stuck in. Within the first minute the girls went 1–0 up with a fine struck goal from Lisa Daley. Three further goals quickly ensued and by half time the score was 4–0.

With the coach demanding more from the girls the second half saw four further goals giving a resounding victory 8–0. The only unfortunate part being that goalkeeper Sam Robertson spent a cold day between the posts and did not touch the ball. Player of the match was Lisa Daley, who totally imposed herself on the opposition with all round speed and skill.

Many thanks must go to Jon French for his umpiring who together with the Henley umpire made it a free flowing enjoyable game.
Also thanks to the supporters and parents who turned up and cheered the team on.

Thirsk

Thirsk Men’s 1st Team were coming into Saturday’s game with a note of caution after last weeks defeat. They started excellently with two early goals, one flick from Scotty Miles and a well executed short corner routine - scorer Phil Hughes - making the game look like a forgone conclusion. Huddersfield fought back and by the start of the second half the scores stood at 2 a piece. Huddersfield started the half slowly and Thirsk gained another early goal, again by Phil Hughes, to take it to 3 – 2. Huddersfield pressed hard but Thirsk held out despite a bit of in-fighting in the ranks.

The men's seconds travelled to Rotherham with only 11 players caused by the early start time of 11. Several hangovers were apparent from the 9am meet at the club! Rotherham sit equal on points at the top of division 8 and their speed of movement and the sharp striking of their centre forward proved too strong and they were 2-0 up after about 20 minutes; one goal from a penalty flick. Some respite was gained at a short corner to Thirsk which was excellently struck by Andrew Young to put Thirsk back in the game at 2-1. Despite being aware of the need to mark better and improve our passing, it was not long before Rotherham scored again, and then added a fourth with about 10 minutes to go. The loss leaves Thirsk 8th in division 8 and 5 points above the relegation zone.

Thirsk Ladies II’s travelled to Huddersfield this weekend and came home after a much deserved win gaining the 3 points needed to move them out of the relegation zone of the division. The Ladies 1sts were at home against Leeds 2nds. They achieved their first win of the season with a 4-1 result, moving them to position 11 in the premier division.

Atherstone Adders

This weeks goals were shared around between Martin Webb, Danny Brooks and James Meer as Adders filed away another win for the season, but it was a close thing. It was the clash of the unbeaten teams and Kingswinford provided stern opposition.
The game couldn't have started better for the Adders, as Danny Brooks opened the scoring early on with a clinical finish and Martin Webb fired in a short corner to put the side two goals ahead. Kings got a goal back just before half time. With momentum in their favour the home side them managed to equalise against the run of play early and set up a tense last 25 minutes. Then the Adders were handed a stroke of fortune when the Kingswinford playmaker was sin binned following a number of incidents, one of which left an Adders player in a state of concussion and phoning for an ambulance.

With their key player sidelined Adders took control of the game and found the winning goal to make it 9 from 9

The ladies were also in fine form and dispatched Long Buckby 5 - 0, although if LB could have finished it would have been a lot closer.

Sevenoaks

The Slazenger England League Games are mentioned in the Half term report on those divisions so we will look at the Sevenoaks efforts here.



While some watch others play


The Men’s 4th's XI produced another good win, 2 – 1 against BBHC. Recent games have been of 2 halves with half time talks from the skipper, Jeffrey, invariably involving telling the players they weren’t that bad and we should win the game in the second half. Maybe the tide has turned as this performance saw Oaks go into half time level without having conceded a goal.
The solid first half gave the side a good base from which to advance in the second. The match was very closely fought but following a good drive down the right by Bassett, Lambdon finally broke the deadlock. Hall provided a second and Oaks were looking comfortable with ten minutes to go. However the defence lost their concentration and allowed BBHC to get on top leading to them pulling a goal back. The last five minutes were tense but Oaks held on.

In Kent Division 6 Sevenoaks Men's Sixth XI lost 3-1 at home to Ashford.

On a cold November morning Sevenoaks Ladies 2nds travelled to Thurrock for a top of the table clash. Having not started brightly in the last few weeks Oaks set about the task with some of the best teamwork in recent weeks culminating in a short corner win. Sophie Crosley, fresh from the news she had just got through England U16 trials the night before, fired a terrific shot towards the goal which Katie Arkle calmly slotted home. Thurrock were tough throughout having a series of short corners that the defence handled well. Sophie Crosley continued to display what a talent she is at the tender age of 14 and captain of the day Amanda Bishop was formidable. In the second half Alex Pearson back at her favoured forward position battled hard hassling the defence and created several scoring opportunities. Non were converted and the 1 0 victory see newly promoted Sevenoaks lead the East Division South 1 by 2 points.



Sevenoaks Ladies 3rd XI



The Ladies 3s maintained their long unbeaten record of the season with yet another victory in the Kent Premier Division this time over local rivals Tunbridge Wells 2s, but it was a close run thing. It was a very cold early start for Oaks and the team started the match a little slowly and did not take control any areas of the pitch. The defence were kept busy by Wells and Catherine Shannon making her first appearance for the 3s was kept very busy from the very start and, but along with Mary Smith, Jess Maunder and Caroline Shrimpton did not allow Wells to go ahead. Goalkeeper Lyn Dawson had to pull off some fine saves to ensure a level score line of no goals a piece at half time. Tunbridge Wells continued to battle throughout the second half and had far more scoring opportunities than Sevenoaks, with the Oaks defenders and keeper having to work very hard to prevent them from scoring. As the half progressed it seemed as if the home team were almost happy to plump for a draw. But in the last minute of the game completely against the run of play Catherine Shannon fed a ball through to right winger Vicky Thomas, who made a great run from back on the half way line, cut in towards the attacking circle and then provided a superb cross which Julie Nicolson latched onto and lifted right over the head of the Wells Goalkeeper into the roof of the goal. Sevenoaks celebrated in style and were highly relieved, Tunbridge Wells were understandably gutted as it was one of very real few scoring opportunities that Oaks had had in the whole match.

The Ladies 5th XI had a much more comfortable day and beat Dartford 2nd's 5 - 0.

March Town

In the NE14HOCKEY East League DIV 2 North March Ladies 1st XI beat Dereham 2nd XI 2 - 1 The goals coming from Lauren Oakman and Katie Rodger. This put an end to a run of three straight League defeats that had dropped them down the League table. The Ladies 2nds couldn't match their senior colleagues and were hammered 8 - 0 away at Ely.

In the NE14HOCKEY Men's League DIV 2 North, the Men's 1st XI were also on winning form defeating Ipswich and East Suffolk 1st XI 4 - 1. The goals came from Andrew Mills (2), Josh Birt and Daniel Shirley. This was their first league victory of the season and was well deserved. The 2nd team score was also 4 - 1 but this time it was in favour of Cambs Nomads 3rds.

In DIV 5 NW the 3rd team scored from all parts of the pitch to record a 5 - 2 away from home at Market Deeping. There were goals a piece from Jacob Frazer, Gary Howsam, Adam Triggs, Charlie Boughton, and Jordan Hillard. That made it 6 wins in as many weeks. The 4th XI took the long and winding road to Horncastle in Div 6 NW and lost in a thrilling 7 - 3 contest. The game was evenly balanced at half time at 4 - 2 but Horncastle powered home in the 2nd half.
]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=241&title=Weekend+Results+Roundup http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=241 Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:59:57 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2007-11-21T05:59:57-00:00 [size=13px]If your teams reports are not here send them in or to have them on the site every week in full you can use our BLOGS[/size]

Sevenoaks

Often lower sides match reports don't feature in the media so we thought we would start off this weeks report with the lower sides at Sevenoaks.

The Men's 6th XI didn't pack the shooting boots for their away trip to Welcome Unicorns but the opposition didn't have theirs either. In this Kent Division 6 clash both played out a tense goalless draw. Oaks seemed to overcome their grass phobia, with skillful forward play by the ever-dangerous pedagogic trio of Derry Wiltshire, Andrew Reid and Jon Evans. Neil Zabit effectively patrolled the midfield beat once he made it to the pitch, and Tim Gore and Rob House showed grit and determination to win the ball. Welcome's wily veterans posed some threat in attack, but the doughty and dogged back line of Chris Hix, Tony Barber and Piers Darkin kept control. Cool Captain Jan van der Velde reiterated at half-time that it was still anyone's game. Reid's mazy running baffled the opposition, and Mike Hrebien was imperious in goal, as Welcome tried to get shots away. Penetrating through passes from Zabit opened up the opposition, and Oaks kept threatening. Bumptious Barber was just wide from one of many shorts and Oaks looked more likely to score near the end as the opposition flagged, but in the end no-one could break the stalemate.

The clubs Junior U18 Indoor Side were taking part in the Qualifying Tournament for the South Championship to be held on Sunday 2nd December.

The first 5 games went as follows.

Sevenoaks 4 Eltham 0
Sevenoaks 3 Cranbrook 0
Sevenoaks 1 Magdalene 0
Sevenoaks 0 Eastbourne 0
Sevenoaks 0 Desborough 0
Sevenoaks 1 Portsmouth 1

All this meant Sevenoaks went through as runners up on points and are now looking forward with some considerable anticipation and hope to the South Championship on the 2nd December

The Men’s 3rd XI confidently set fire to the Burnt Ash 2nd XI and won 4 - 0 and the Men’s 4th XI smoldered to a 4 - 2 victory against the same opposition.

The Ladies 2s hosted St Albans 2s in their East Division 1 game at Hollybush. Sevenoaks were forced to field a varied line up due to injury and absence. Early on, this showed as Oaks were unable to find their rhythm and patterns of play. Keeper Gill Thompson made a series of outstanding saves as Oaks defensive organisation was found wanting. Oaks rode the period of pressure and when promoted third team player Georgina Light came into the game, she provided a target for the mid field to clear to. When Ruth Bingham switched to the left, Oaks stretched the St Albans defence and started to find space into which to work and create pressure. Oaks grew in confidence and 10 minutes into the 2nd half Bingham touched the ball into the goal. On 20 minutes Begg smashed the ball into the roof of the net to make it two. St Albans stretched the play for a frantic last ten minutes. They found the back of the net once but Oaks held their form and nerve for their 6th win of the season

The Ladies 3's continued their unbeaten run with a confident 5 - 0 win against BBHC. Carolyn Kelly scored two and the others were provided by Lottie Willis, Hollie Luke and Maggie Morley.

Thirsk

The Men's second team provided a quality performance on Saturday against Leeds 5th team at the Thirsk home pitch. Again a mixture of 'mature' players and talented youth were on show and first goal came around 10 minutes from a short corner well struck by Ian Foxley. Continued dominance of mid field and a solid defence provided the drive forward down the right and after some quick passing around the D led to a well taken goal by David Ramsden. Half time 2-0 and after some encouraging words at the break by captain Andrew Young Thirsk came out and carried on from where they had finished the first half. Any attacks by Leeds were quickly controlled and several chances were missed by Thirsk before a goal from veteran right wing Simon Gaskell pushed the score to 3-0. Further attacks followed and from a free hit, Ian Foxley found David Ramsden at the back post to slot in a forth. Philip Young kept well and finished with a clean sheet for the first time this season.

Thirsk Ladies II’s entertained Leeds Adel Carnegie 4 this weekend and put up a good fight. LA Carnegie went ahead half way through the first half. The second half saw some good attacking play from Thirsk creating chances to score but despite excellent play from Lizzie Walters and Charlotte Frank the ball just would not go into the net. In contrast LA Carnegie scored another 2 goals but Thirsk were rewarded with a goal from a short corner with a solid strike from Karen Skippings, to finish the match on a win for LA Carnegie of 3 – 1. Player of the Match was Karen Skippings.

Harleston Magpies

Harleston Men continued their period at the top of NE14HOCKEY East Premier League following a convincing win 3-0 against Havering. Whilst the score line may not suggest complete dominance the Magpies goalie had but one shot to save, Havering defended well in the second half to prevent Magpies extending their half-time lead. St Albans continued their pursuit of Magpies with a narrow victory against equal bottom of the table Wapping. This week it is Magpies turn to play a bottom of the table side with a visit to Harpenden. St Albans have a tough fixture against Broxbourne. However it would be a surprise if the table did not have the same look at the top following these games. Robert Stimpson commented following the Havering game "this was a confident display against a side who did not stop trying to disrupt our pattern.

Atherstone Adders

Two perfectly executed short corner goals either side of half time, by Martin Webb secured the points for the Adders and made it 8 from 8 this season in the BodyKraft League. However the side was made to work hard for their victory by a Kynoch side who defended well, but rarely threatened the Adders solid defence. With their nearest league rivals playing each other this was a chance for the Adders to extend the gap at the top of the table and they responded with a hard fought performance. The side stuttered and gasped it's way to victory and, despite totally dominating the match, the victory never looked convincing.

Adders Ladies 1sts also continued their unbeaten run with a much more comfortable looking but equally nervous 4 - 0 win against Wasps. The last minute drop out by Captain Carter saw a line up against WASPS which will become familiar for the rest of the Ladies season, when Laura Webb and Steph Carter go down under on their travels. This week saw the colourful return of under performing fantasy league player Steph Wright and the Ladies regular umpire Mick Wright. The Ladies were hopeful of replicating last weeks positive performance and exterminating the WASPS. They came home 4 - 0 victors to stay top of the League, but not in the emphatic manner they had hoped.

March Town

March Town had mixed results again in the NE14HOCKEY EAST MENS LEAGUES. In Div 2 North the first lost away 5 - 2 to Sudbury 1st's after a good start that saw them leading at halftime 2 - 1. The first half strikes came from Matt Wallis and Daniel Shirley. The second half saw March playing well, but Sudbury had the bit between their teeth, and gradually forced their way back into the game, scoring four further goals. In 3 North West the 2nd's also suffered a second half set back. This time it was 2 - 2 at half time and then Rutland slammed in 6 without reply in the second half to take all 3 points.

The Men's 3rd's showed no such lapse in Division 5 North West building on a 2 - 2 half time score line to take the game from Alford 2nd's 3 - 2. The finishing touches were provided by Gary Howsam (2) and Adam Triggs. The 4th team added to the clubs woes by failing to win a game that was there for the taking and losing by an annoying 1 - 0 score line to Ely. A young 5th team showed the rest of the Men's teams how it should be done by knocking 8 past a mature Cambs South 4th XI. Simon Laws scored in the first 5 minutes and then completed a well deserved hat trick. The other goals were provided by Ross Ambler (2), David Hodson (2), and David Haslegrave. Cambs South contributed a goal in each half to make it an exciting 10 goal game.

The Ladies sides failed to alter the mood both suffering defeats. The 1st XI were well in the game to half time and only trailed 3 - 2 but The University of East Anglia 1sts powered on to win 6 - 2. In the Cambs Ladies Premier League the second team failed to score and were dispatched by Cambs University 3rds 4 - 0.

Dart

Dart were held to a 3 - 3 by Sidmouth at a ground were they have failed to perform well for a few seasons. Dart started well and controlled the game, moving forward with purpose and defending with ease. Five minutes from half time Dart gained a short corner, and Ben Gaywood managed to slip the ball under the keeper to give Dart the lead. Two players for Dart were substituted at half time to give them a rest and this seemed to knock the simple confidence gained in the first half. Sloppy defending gave Sidmouth first an equaliser and then the lead. Dart then threw back on their two influential midfielders of Ben Gaywood and Jason Wakefield, and this levelled the score in a couple of minutes. Five minutes later they were back in the lead in this Topsy turvy match. Sidmouth threw everyone forward for the last few minutes , they gained a free hit just outside the D and in the ensuing melee managed to slip the ball past the Dart keeper to take the final score to three.

City of Peterborough

In the NE14HOCKEY East Premier B CoP 2nd's won well, beating Chelmsford 2nd's 5 - 1. City started slowly against a skilful and fast moving opposition forward line, and against the run of play, City took the lead through a Jo Kopka. A second was added by Brendan Sullivan before half time. Chelmsford started the second half stronger with numerous penalty corners conceded, but City defence held strong as well as a couple of fine saves from Jon Short in goal. City eased the pressure with goals from Sullivan, Andrew Cave and a rare goal from Stuart Dawson. City's 3rd's were also on target winning 4 - 0 against Cambridge City 4th's Shayne Andrews got a hat trick and Tim Pollard provided the other.

In Div 4 North West the 5th XI lost by a single goal to Boston 1st XI. In a very physical game City felt aggrieved at certain umpiring decisions including a yellow card for Joe Paul. In Div 5NW Bourne 3’s were the best side City 6th XI have played this season, full of good experienced adult players. City were happy to walk away with a point from the 3 - 3 draw which kept them just above Bourne in the table.

In the East Veterans League City Vets travelled with only 10 players and came up with a master plan to only play 3 at the back. This worked well for the first half which ended with a 1 – 0 lead through Ian Kennedy. For 10 more minutes City held out but Chelmsford with a youngish centre forward who could run, suddenly found the key and score 3 very quick goals. City then replied through a deflected strike from Mick Ward (scoring for the 45th consecutive season for the club) and thought they were still in with a chance. However, this was soon proved to be a false dawn as Chelmsford exploited City’s lack of numbers as their defence tired and finished comfortable winners 6 - 2.

Gloucester City

Top met bottom in the N4 WOESW Premier division in an uncontested encounter at Oxstalls. Gloucester ran out comfortable 9 - 0 winners against an under strength Marlborough side, to record their seventh league win of the season and sustain their good run of form. Matt Fairburn and Iain Pritchard both got 3 a piece and Chris Harrington, Kris Green, and Tom Ward scored 1 each in the second half.

Gloucester City B were also in good finishing form beating Newport 5 - 3. Newport took hold of the game from the start putting Gloucester on the back foot and scoring two early goals. Gloucester undeterred by this regrouped and Richard Allott scored in the dying minutes of the first half to give the home team a much needed goal. In the second half Graeme Pratt scored closely followed by another by Mark Charania to put City in the lead. Newport however managed to equalise on the break, once again bringing the scores level. This only seemed to fuel the Gloucester machine and some good play from the back saw Pratt score again. Another goal from Allott extended Gloucester's lead towards the end bringing the final score 5-3 to the home side.

Gloucester City Ladies went into Saturdays game with some key players missing, hoping to gain some points from top of the league Team Bath Buccs. City starting strongly dominating the first half with Emma Done and Laura Gummer but no goals came. In the second half Gloucester started strong and after many failed short corners saw Bath score on the break leaving the score 1-0. City continued to fight hard and were unable to score against a strong bath keeper. Gloucester battled and were on the day the better side but they were caught on the back foot again and Bath scored again to make it 2 - 0. The Ladies 4th's team faired better against East Glos Ladies 2nd's to run out 3 -1 winners. St. Edwards School was the setting for the most impressive display of the season for Gloucester City team. It gave the team another opportunity to display there ever improving skills and abilities and scintillating team play, showing the East Glos Team how hockey should be played.]]> http://www.ne14hockey.com/index.php?page=3&article=206&title=Club+of+the+Week+Thirsk+HC http://www.ne14hockey.com/topic.php?topic=206 Tue, 6 Nov 2007 08:57:35 -0000 ne14hockey Field Hockey News Field Hockey News ne14hockey 2007-11-6T08:57:35-00:00
An inspirational team talk at half time produced a second goal for Thirsk in the first 20 seconds with again a strong attack down the right and a well timed strike by captain Andrew Young. Thirsk were able to maintain their domination of the second half of the game and produced a another goal, this one scored by David Ramsden. This seemed to wake the Doncaster side and they began to press forward and penetrate the defence more often. Determined work in the centre of the field by Don Petty, Dick Edwards and Nick Fox kept the opposition out. After a series of short corners they got the goal that their pressure probably deserved. With about 8 minutes remaining Thirsk really closed the door and easily held out to the final whistle and a win 3-2. Thanks to the umpires for making the game enjoyable for all, the Thirsk umpire being Gerry Hall from the first team.


Sporting their new team kit, the Thirsk Ladies 1st team had every intention of having a good game on Saturday against close league rivals Slazengers. They started with heads held high and everyone ready to play, despite sitting at the bottom of the division. Slazenger’s scored their first goal; which did not seem to bother Thirsk at first; but then came another and their heads were starting to go down. The team spirit kept them going as Slazengers were only scoring on short corners so in open play Thirsk were competing well.
In the second half they had a good team talk and went out in full swing and played as if they were going to win the league; it was just unlucky that Slazengers then scored again to make it 3 - 0. The score did not really reflect the game and the team spirit remains high ahead of the visit of top of the table Sheffield Hallam


Thirsk Ladies II’s hosted a home match to Salendine Nook 1, a team from Huddersfield, and played their best hockey of the season. With good hockey being played by both teams with excellent defending and good saves by Thirsk’s goalkeeper Bex Walters, the half time score was a goalless draw. Thirsk’s effort and determination didn’t go unrewarded and early in the second half Thirsk took the lead with a goal from a free hit by Nicky Bell deflecting off the stick of Charlotte Frank and well struck into the net by Clare Goacher.
Thirsk continued to play some good passing hockey wanting to build on their lead but unfortunately it was Salendine who scored next to bring the score level. With the game maintaining the fast pace of the first half and all still to play for in this evenly matched game it was the visiting team who were lucky enough to score the winning goal. The final score being 2 – 1 to Salendine Nook. The fact that 3 Thirsk players, namely Nicky Bell, Charlotte Maxwell and Sarah Goacher, were nominated as players of the match showed what a brilliant overall team performance Thirsk II’s produced.


The Men's first team played on Sunday this weeek in Division 3 of the Yorkshire Leagues. They also had to head south to an away game against Leeds University 4ths and managed a win by the same score 3-2.]]>